The Russellville Democrat., 1887-06-29
PENNY CAFES"
A Cheap and Harmless Kind of
 Amusement.
Fat and Lean Women and Breaks of Nature" as Seen in London-Some- thing About the Risks of the
 Business.

London! One Saturday night I was strolling aimlessly along one of the principal market thoroughfares in the neighborhood of Hoxton, when my at tention was drawn to crowd of people outside shop, the window of which, instead of being filled, as usual, with goods suited to the requirements of the locality, was occupied by large can vas, painted all over in glaring colors with marvellous figures of performing dogs, fat women, skeletons, giants, red Indians and a number of odd-looking animals, to classify which under their correct genus would have puzzled the mose eminent living naturalist. In front of the shop piano-organ, evi- dently ordered to stop there for the oc- casion, poured forth such cheering lays as "Wait till the Clouds Roll By" .Jeanie," and "Mother, I've Come Home to Die,' varied by lively jig or breakdown, which was the signal for a number of children in the roadway to perform singular gymnastic feats, which passed muster for dancing. C1 A fat man with red face and very hoarse voice stood guard at the entrance to the shop the inside of which was concealed from the eager gaze of those without by a dirty curtain of green baize stretched across the doorway--and en- deavored to induce the crowd to pay their pennies and "walk in" His har- angue. frequently repeated, was some thing like this Just a-goin' to begin, Signor Barberino's great travelling show admission one penny-where can be seen the wonderful fat woman of Cali fornia, and that hextrahordinary freak O nature, the armless child, which can write with its feet, and never knows the loss it's harms, eos it never had none, and also Cos mater as perwided it with legs what does twice as well. Now, then, there-stand aside. and let the lady pass.'') (This to a group of small boys who had got as near to the doorway as possible.) Thank you, marm.-Just a-goin' to begin, as ex- hibited before all the crowned eads of Europe and all the ryal family, and specially engaged to appear at the Himperial theater of Peking, in Chiney. No dogs admitted, sir; and children must be paid for.-Signor Barberino's, s." etc.
 The impression left on most of the crowd seemed to be that if they missed that show, it would be matter of re- gret to them for the rest of their nat ural life, for they pressed eagerly for ward and paid their pennies. In about seven minutes the shop was crammed with miscellaneous crowd of men, women--with some of their purchases for the Sunday dinner bulging out of baskets too small to contain them-and boys and girls of that intermediate age between childhood and youth; little children in the charge of bigger chil- dren; and one or two of q better class of young men, who seemed to have dropped in merely for the fun of the thing.
 l entered with number of others, and obtained place as near as l could to another hanging of green baize al the further end of the shop, for i'm agined that behind this must be con cealed some of the wonders so graphic ally painted on the canvas outside. The place having become full, the green baize was drawn aside, and young man with very East-end look handed out short, fat, ugly, greasy-looking woman of about four feet in height, but weigh. ing, 1 should think, about eighteen stone She was dressed in a showy, tawdly material, covered with elabo- rate trimmings equally tawdry, and seemed pleased with the amount of at. tention she received. When the East end yepng man had finished q minute account of her height, weight, age, measurements, etc., members of the crowd were requested to "shake lands with the fat lady;" and an intimation was given that should any of the audi enee, in the performance of this act of friendly greeting, pass any coin of the realm from their own into the lady's palm, why well, the fat lady would not be offended.
 This part of the ceremony having haat ,,ot fhrouuh disnlayinO on the